Process of duplicating matrices.



PROCESS OF DUPLIGATING MATRICES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 6. 1903.

l g-fi- Wifiwsses: wenfor GeoY QKS ene fiZMWV" Patented'February 21, ios.

PATENT EEiOE.

GEORGE .K. CHENEY, O NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS .OF DUPLICATING lVlATRllCES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 783,176, dated February 21,1905.

' :Appncatinn a. June 6,1903. Serial No. 160,434.

cording sound for reproduction to first make a master-record in the form asoft-wax tablet and produce a metallic negative'therefrom by a process of electrodeposition, the negative being subsequently hacked and faced to serve as a die or matrix for use in stamping up commercial records,'suc h as may be purchased in the open market. As the sale of these records is continually increasing and as the average life of a matrix is ordinarily limited to the production of a thousand or less clean sharp impressions, it is found necessary in meeting the demand to renew the matrix by providing a second, third, and ofttimes a fourth and fifth duplicate. The duplication of the matrix is attended with more or less difficulty and involves considerable time, labor, and expense, as the soft-wax'master deteriorates rapidly and becomes hopelessly worn and unfit for further use after a second or possibly a third electrotype has been made therefrom. lit also requires great care in handling and storage to protect it from mutilation and atmospheric changes, &c.' The life of the master-record being thus lim ited, as above stated, it Inust sooner or later be reproduced if additional duplicates of the matrix are required, and it therefore becomes necessary to recall vocalists, musicians, or other artists to repeat the song, &c. Qrdinarily considerable delay is experienced in securing the attendance of these artists, as they are usually traveling from place to place, and in addition to the expensejyfor such services the second master maylack the, spirit,

tone quality, and merit of the original to such an extent as, to prove wholly unattractive to the buying public.

In View of the foregoing the present invention is designed to dispense with further use of the soft-wax master after the, first electrotype is made therefrom and to employ a such electrotype or negative in making a posi-' tive electrotype or permanent record, from which any number of negative matrices may be subsequently produced in a manner to be hereinafter more fully explained- The advantages of this method will be apparent, as in making a duplicate matrix from an electrotype, which latter I shall hereinafter term the positive, such el'ectrotype'is not subjected to appreciable or, in fact, any wear, as

it serves merely for use as a form on which metal is deposited elect1-olytically--that is to say, for the production of negative electrotypes in any desired number, which after being separated from the positive and properly backed and faced, are employed as dies or matrices for stamping up commercial records. For a detailed description of one application of this method reference may be had to the following paragraphs and to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of the specifioation,.in which Figure l is a sectional view of a matrix or duplicate original record with its backing; Fig. 2, a-similar sectional view showingthe conductive film or coating applied thereto Fig. 3 is asimilar sectional view to Fig- 2, but showing the electrodeposit thereon-L Fig. 4c is a similar sectional view of the same parts as in Fig. 3, but showing the electrotype or 5 the last deposit separated from the duplicate original or matrix; Fig. 5, a similar sectional view showing the last electrotype backed-in the usual manner; and Fig. 6, a plan view of the duplicate original or matrix, said plan view also serving to indicate thelower surface oflthe electrotype taken-[from the duplicate original or matrix. i

The duplication of a negative matrix by my improved process is as follows: A master sound-record is produced in any suitable or well-known manneras, for example, by recording directly upon the surface of a tablet of wax-like or other material'.and a negative IOO ' to the unequal'expansion or contraction during 7 tions stated: bisulfid of carbon, seven ounces;

electrotype 1 is made therefrom in the usual I manner by a process of electrodeposition. I wish it understood, however, that I do not 5 limit myself to a particular method of producing the original negative, as it'may be molded, stamped up, or otherwise formed and will serve the purpose of the present invention. Such a negative 1 is employed to obtaina positive electrotype lby having the record-surface thereof first thoroughly washed with alcohol, benzin, or the like and then coated with a solution suitable for forming a conducting-surface 3, on which metal may be deposited electrolytically and which at the same time will serve asa protective covering by preventing the metal 4 thus deposited from adhering directly tothe record-surface of the negative. By coating the surface-of the negative or matrix with a solution of a material which is conductive and whiph also has the property of being easily separated from the negative without requiring the destruction of the negative by eating the same away with acids or by electrolytic decomposition or removal the process of making the duplicate original is much simplified and the cost of time and material greatly reduced. My method of duplicating an original record also. has many advantages and material differences over those methods in which the matrix is formed of gelatin or layers of gelatin and other substances from which original wax record is removed and its place taken by a celluloid coating or layers of celluloid and gelatin to form the duplicate. The use of gelatin involves a great expense of time and extreme care, while at the same time the'records duplicated are liable to be untrue, uneven, and warped, owing the drying or hardening process- My process also allows the original negative or matrix to be preserved and used repeatedly.

Any solution which has the properties above described of giving a conductive coating to the matrix without adhering too'closely to the same may be used; but I preferably employ the following ingredients in about the proporphosphorus,one-half ounce; beeswax, one-half ounce; spirits of turpentine, six ounces; asphaltum, one-half ounce. Such asolution in addition to forming a conducting-surface and protecting the negative from direct deposition of metal permits the positive electrotype 4 to be readily separated from the negative 1 withlittle efiort and without marring or endangering either record-surface. After the solution of conductive material has spread upon the surface of the metallic matrix and allowed to dry or harden copper or other metal is electrolytically deposited upon the same. The matrix and copper positive or dup'licate record thus formed are then separated manually or in any convenient manner. The

copper positive thus produced after being backed with metal 5 is identicalin all respects to the ordinary commercial record and is preserved as a permanent record from which duplicate negative matrices may be 'made in any number desired without appreciable wear or deterioration of the same. To now produce such a duplicate negative, the positive after being washed with alcohol or benzin is given a film-coating of the solution above referred to and electroplated. When a suficient depth of metal has deposited, it is removed from the tank, and owing to the presence of the interposed film between the positive and negative electrotyp'es they may be readily separated. The negative after being backed and faced in the usual manner is ready for use in the press as a matrix in stamping up commercial records. This part of the process it is not necessary to separately illustrate by drawings, as the present figures of the drawings clearly indicate the steps, which are similar to that of producing the duplicate original. Thus it will be seen that the number of matrices which may be thus produced from the positive is unlimited. The time, labor, and expense over the present methods are greatlyreduced and the necessity for recalling artists is obviated. The positive or original from which such duplicates are made will last indefinitely with ordinary care, as it is not appreciably affected by changes in atmosphere or temperature and will not deteriorate or wear in use.

Having therefore described my invention, I I

claim,

1. The method of obtaininga reverse metallic copy of a metallic record or matrix which comprises, first, coating the record or matrix with a film of electrically-conductive but detachable material; second, electroplating said film, and, third, separating the metallic layers.

2. The method of obtaining a reverse metallic copy of a metallic record or matrix which comprises" the following steps: first, coating the record or matrix with a film of electrically-conductive but detachable material; second, electroplating said film; third, separating the metallic layers, and, fourth, backing up the last-named electroplate.

3. Themethod of duplicating metallic soundrecord matrices, which comprises, first, duplicating the master-record in metal; second, applying a film of conductive, separable material to the duplicate master, and, third, formingan electrotype upon said film-covered surmatrices, comprising, first, applyinga solution of a conductive separable material to a negativematrix to form a protective film; second, electroplating the film covered surface to form a positive electrotype; third, applying a solution of conductive separable material to the positive electrotype; fourth, electroplating the latter film-covered surface to form a negative electrotypc.

6. The method of duplicating sound-record matrices,comprising, first, applyinga solution of a conductive separable material to a negative matrix; second, electroplating thefilmcovered surface to form a positive electrotype; third, applying a solution of said material to the positive electrotype; fourth, electroplating the latter film-covered surface to form a negative electrotype, and, fifth,' backing the latter negative electrotype to form a matrix.-

7, The method of obtaining a reverse metallic copyv of a metallic record or matrix which comprises, first, coating the record or matrix wlth a solution of wax,'a conductive liquid, I and a volatile liquid, and, second, electroplating the film so formed.

8. The'method of obtaininga reverse metallic copy of a metallic record or matrix, which comprises, first, coating the record or matrix with a solution of wax, bisulfid of carbon, and a volatile liquid, and, second, electroplating the film-covered surface so prepared.

9. The method of obtaining a reverse metallic copy of a metallic record or matrix, which comprises, first, coating the record or matrix with a solution of wax, bisulfid of carbon and spirits of turpentine, and, second, electroplating the film-covered surface so prepared.

10. Themethod of obtaining a reverse metallic copy of a metallic record or matrix which comprises, first, coating the record or ""matrix with a solution ofbeeswax, bisulfid of carbon, spirits of turpentine, asphaltum and phos-. phorus, and, second, electroplating the filmcovered surface so prepared.

Signed at New York, N.Y., this 4th day of June, 1903.

GEORGE K. CHENEY Witnesses: J. E. PEARSON,

W. HFPUMPHREY. 

